NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said on Wednesday that no NBA player or staff has tested positive for COVID-19 while in the bubble at Walt Disney World in Orlando.
Silver provided the report in his pre-Finals press conference, though he did acknowledge that there were positive tests among the 6,500-plus people who worked in or around the bubble — including service workers, non-NBA personnel and Disney employees who don't undergo daily testing.
The commissioner did not specify how many positive cases there were among that group, but he emphasized that the folks who tested positive were kept away from players and coaches at the Wide World of Sports complex.
Adam Silver did say that some of the service workers taking care of the NBA did have some positive tests. Those were presumably contained by keeping those folks away from the bubble. https://t.co/nXPiTxOmtm
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) October 1, 2020
Three months into the restart, the NBA's post-hiatus bubble plan for the 2019-20 season has been an undeniable success. In addition to the zero positive tests among league personnel inside the bubble, the quality of basketball has been outstanding and the 2020 playoffs have been as thrilling as ever.
On Tuesday, Los Angeles Lakers owner and president Jeanie Buss credited Silver for his swift action in shutting down the NBA season in March after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus.
“Adam Silver’s decision to shut down the league probably saved thousands of lives. It made everybody realize how serious this pandemic was,” Buss said on Sam Amick's “Tampering” podcast.
Silver also revealed that the next NBA season could possibly begin on Christmas Day, but that a January start is “more likely.”
The next NBA season, Adam Silver says tonight, would start on Christmas at the earliest but "more likely January"
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) October 1, 2020
The commissioner also noted that even without a COVID-19 vaccine before the end of 2020, the next season could feature fans in arenas “with appropriate protocols in terms of distancing and advanced testing.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says in press conference that while the likely lack of a vaccine before the end of 2020 won’t allow full arenas next season, "with appropriate protocols in terms of distancing, and advanced testing, you will be able to bring fans back into arenas."
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) October 1, 2020
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